Lens moving apparatus

ABSTRACT

A lens moving apparatus including a housing; a bobbin disposed in the housing; a coil disposed on the bobbin; a magnet disposed on the housing to correspond to the coil; an upper elastic member coupled to an upper portion of the bobbin and an upper portion of the housing; and a damper coupled to the first elastic member and the housing. Further, the upper elastic member comprises a connector connecting the bobbin and the housing and a protrusion extending toward the housing, and the damper is coupled to the protrusion and the housing

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/827,218 filed on Nov. 30, 2017, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/694,004 filed on Apr. 23, 2015 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,857,555 issued on Jan. 2, 2018), which claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0049273,filed in Korea on 24 Apr. 2014, No. 10-2014-0055362, filed in Korea on 9May 2014, and No. 10-2014-0096577, filed in Korea on 29 Jul. 2014, whichare hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference as if fully setforth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to a lens moving apparatus and, more particularly, toa lens moving apparatus which prevents resonance of a bobbin in theoptical axis direction by alleviating vibration of the bobbin in theoptical axis direction during movement of a lens or implementation ofauto-focusing.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, IT products equipped with subminiature digital camerassuch as, for example, cellular phones, smartphones, tablet PCs, andnotebook computers, have actively been developed.

IT products equipped with conventional subminiature digital camerasincorporate a lens moving apparatus for aligning the focal distance of alens by adjusting a distance between the lens and an image sensor thatconverts outside light into a digital image.

However, the conventional subminiature digital cameras are configured toimplement a control operation for determining a point of the imagesensor, where the most distinct image is produced, based on thedefinition of the digital image formed on the image sensor that dependson the distance between the lens and the image sensor for implementationof auto-focusing. During implementation of auto-focusing as describedabove, a bobbin equipped with the lens is moved in the optical axisdirection. This movement of the bobbin in the optical axis direction,however, may cause vibration of the bobbin in the optical axisdirection. When the frequency of vibration of the bobbin in the opticalaxis direction becomes close to or coincides with the naturalfrequencies of vibration of the bobbin and a housing, problematicresonance may occur between the bobbin and the housing which areconnected to each other through an elastic member.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present embodiment provides a lens moving apparatus tosolve problems of the related art. More specifically, the presentembodiment provides a lens moving apparatus to remove resonance duringmovement of a lens or implementation of auto-focusing. In addition, thepresent embodiment provides a lens moving apparatus to more efficientlyremove resonance during movement of a lens or implementation ofauto-focusing.

In one embodiment, a lens moving apparatus includes a housing supportinga driving magnet and having an opening, a bobbin provided at an outercircumferential surface thereof with a coil located inside the drivingmagnet, the bobbin being moved in a first direction parallel to anoptical axis within the housing via electromagnetic interaction betweenthe driving magnet and the coil, and a damper located between thehousing and the bobbin.

In another embodiment, a lens moving apparatus includes a housingsupporting a driving magnet and having an opening, a bobbin provided atan outer circumferential surface thereof with a coil located inside thedriving magnet, the bobbin being moved in a first direction parallel toan optical axis within the housing via electromagnetic interactionbetween the driving magnet and the coil, an upper elastic member and alower elastic member provided respectively at upper surfaces and lowersurfaces of the bobbin and the housing, each elastic member including aninner frame coupled to the bobbin and an outer frame coupled to thehousing, and a damper located between the inner frame of at least oneelastic member among the upper elastic member and the lower elasticmember and the housing.

In a further embodiment, a lens moving apparatus includes a moving unitincluding a bobbin, a stationary unit including a housing outwardlyspaced apart from the bobbin by a prescribed distance to move the movingunit, an elastic unit connected to the bobbin and the housing to providethe moving unit with return force, and a damper member located betweenthe housing and the elastic unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Arrangements and embodiments may be described in detail with referenceto the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view illustrating the lensmoving apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the lens movingapparatus after removal of a cover member as compared to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a housing accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the housing viewedfrom a different angle than FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7 is a schematic bottom perspective view illustrating the housingaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic exploded perspective view illustrating the housingaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view illustrating an upper elastic memberaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view illustrating a lower elastic memberaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a bobbin accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic bottom perspective view illustrating the bobbinaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic exploded perspective view illustrating the bobbinaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 13 ;

FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged bottom view of FIG. 13 ;

FIG. 16 is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view illustratinga receiving recess according to the embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating thebobbin according to the embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a bottom view illustrating the bobbin and the housingaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating thebobbin, the housing, and the cover member according to one embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating thebobbin, the housing, and the cover member according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 21 is a schematic longitudinal sectional illustrating the bobbinand the cover member according to a further embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a schematic bottom side view illustrating the bobbin and thehousing according to another embodiment;

FIG. 23A is a graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration of aconventional lens moving apparatus having no damper, FIG. 23B is a graphillustrating optical axis directional vibration of a lens movingapparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 23C is a graphillustrating optical axis directional vibration of the lens movingapparatus according to the present embodiment in the case where thedamper is destroyed by a washing process for the lens moving apparatus;

FIG. 24 is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view illustratinga damper and a damping connector according to one embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating thedamper and the damping connector according to the embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a schematic partially enlarged longitudinal sectional viewillustrating the damper and the damping connector according to theembodiment taken along line A-A of FIG. 25 ;

FIG. 27 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating adamping protrusion according to a first additional embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating adamping protrusion according to a second additional embodiment;

FIG. 29 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating adamping protrusion according to a third additional embodiment;

FIG. 30 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating adamping protrusion according to a fourth additional embodiment;

FIG. 31 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating adamping receiving recess according to an additional embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a schematic plan view and a partially enlarged viewillustrating a damper and a damping connector according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 33A is a graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration ofthe conventional lens moving apparatus having no damper, and FIG. 33B isa graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration of the lensmoving apparatus according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 34 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a lens movingapparatus according to another embodiment;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view illustrating a lens moving apparatushaving no cover member according to the embodiment;

FIG. 36 is a view illustrating a housing and an upper elastic memberaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 37 is a side sectional view of FIG. 36 ; and

FIG. 38 is a view illustrating graphic curves acquired during movementof the conventional lens moving apparatus and the lens moving apparatusaccording to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the annexeddrawings. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted bythe same reference numerals even though they are depicted in differentdrawings. In the following description, a detailed description of knownfunctions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when itmay make the subject matter of the disclosure rather unclear. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciated that some features in the drawingsare exaggerated, reduced, or simplified for ease in description, anddrawings and elements thereof are not shown always at the proper rate.

For reference, in the respective drawings, a rectangular coordinatesystem (x, y, z) may be used. In the drawings, the x-axis and the y-axismean a plane perpendicular to an optical axis and, for convenience, anoptical axis (z-axis) direction may be referred to as a first direction,an x-axis direction may be referred to as a second direction, and ay-axis direction may be referred to as a third direction.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a lens movingapparatus 100 according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic explodedperspective view illustrating the lens moving apparatus 100 according tothe embodiment, FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating thelens moving apparatus 100 after removal of a cover member 300 ascompared to FIG. 1 , FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 3 , FIG. 5is a schematic perspective view illustrating a housing 140 according tothe embodiment, FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view illustrating thehousing 140 viewed from a different angle than FIG. 5 , FIG. 7 is aschematic bottom perspective view illustrating the housing 140 accordingto the embodiment, FIG. 8 is a schematic exploded perspective viewillustrating the housing 140 according to the embodiment, FIG. 9 is aschematic plan view illustrating an upper elastic member 150 accordingto the embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view illustrating alower elastic member 160 according to the embodiment.

The lens moving apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is anapparatus that adjusts a distance between an image sensor and a lens ofa camera module to position the image sensor at the focal distance ofthe lens. That is, the lens moving apparatus 100 functions to implementauto-focusing.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the lens moving apparatus100 according to the present embodiment includes a cover member 300, anupper elastic member 150, a bobbin 110, a coil 120 wound around thebobbin 110, a housing 140, driving magnets 130 and a printed circuitboard 170 affixed to the housing 140, a lower elastic member 160, a base210, a displacement sensing unit to determine a displacement of thebobbin 110 in the optical axis direction (i.e. in a first direction),and a damper serving as an alleviator.

The cover member 300 generally takes the form of a box and is configuredto be coupled to the top of the base 210. The cover member 300 defines areceiving space along with the base 210. The upper elastic member 150,the bobbin 110, the coil 120 wound around the bobbin 110, the housing140, and the driving magnets 130 and the printed circuit board 170affixed to the housing 140 are received in the receiving space.

The cover member 300 has an opening formed in an upper surface thereofto allow a lens coupled to the bobbin 110 to be exposed to outsidelight. In addition, the opening may be provided with a window formed ofa light transmitting material. As such, it is possible to preventimpurities, such as, for example, dust or moisture, from entering thecamera module.

The cover member 300 may have first recesses 310 formed in a lower endthereof. At this time, although will be described below, the base 210may have second recesses 211 at portions thereof coming into contactwith the first recesses 310 when the cover member 300 and the base 210are coupled to each other (i.e. at positions corresponding to the firstrecesses 310). Upon coupling of the cover member 300 and the base 210,recesses each having a given area may be formed via merger of the firstrecesses 310 and the second recesses 211. A viscous adhesive member maybe applied to the recesses. That is, the adhesive member applied to therecesses may be changed into a gap between facing surfaces of the covermember 300 and the base 210 through the recesses, thereby allowing thecover member 300 and the base 210 to be coupled to each other andsealing the gap between the cover member 300 and the base 210. Inaddition, the adhesive member may hermetically seal side surfaces of thecover member 300 and the base 210 as the cover member 300 and the base210 are coupled to each other.

In addition, the cover member 300 may have a third recess 320 formed ina surface thereof corresponding to a terminal surface of the printedcircuit board 170, so as not to interfere with a plurality of terminalsformed at the terminal surface. The third recess 320 may be indented inthe entire surface facing the terminal surface. As the adhesive memberis applied inside the third recess 320, the cover member 300, the base210 and the printed circuit board 170 may be sealed. In addition, theadhesive member may hermetically seal side surfaces of the cover member300 and the base 210 as the cover member 300 and the base 210 arecoupled to each other.

Although the first recesses 310, the second recesses 320, and the thirdrecess 320 are formed respectively at the base 210 and the cover member300, the embodiment is not limited thereto and recesses having similarshapes may be formed only in the base 210 or may be formed only in thecover member 300.

The base 210 may generally have a square shape and define a space forreceiving the bobbin 110 and the housing 140 by being coupled to thecover member 300.

The base 210 has a protruding portion that protrudes outward by aprescribed thickness so as to surround a lower rim of the base 210. Theprescribed thickness of the protruding portion may be equal to thethickness of the side surface of the cover member 300. When the covermember 300 is coupled to the base 210, the side surface of the covermember 300 may be seated on, come into contact with, be disposed on, orbe coupled to an upper surface or a side surface of the protrudingportion. As a result, the protruding portion may guide the cover member300 coupled to the top thereof by coming into surface contact with anend of the cover member 300. The end of the cover member 300 may includea bottom surface or side surface of the cover member 300. At this time,the protruding portion and the end of the cover member 300 may beattached to and sealed with each other using, for example, an adhesive.

The protruding portion may be provided with the second recesses 211 atpositions corresponding to the first recesses 310 of the cover member300. As described above, the second recesses 211 may be merged with thefirst recesses 310 of the cover member 300 to define the recesses and todefine a space for charging of the adhesive member.

The base 210 has a central opening. The opening is formed at a positioncorresponding to a position of the image sensor arranged in the cameramodule.

In addition, the base 210 includes four guide members 216 upwardlyprotruding perpendicular thereto by a prescribed height from fourcorners thereof. The guide members 216 may have a polygonal columnshape. The guide members 216 may be inserted into, or fastened orcoupled to lower guide grooves 148 of the housing 140 that will bedescribed below. As such, when the housing 140 is seated or disposed onthe top of the base 210, the guide members 216 and the lower guidegrooves 148 may guide a coupling position of the housing 140 onto thebase 210 and, simultaneously, prevent the housing 140 from deviatingfrom an installation target reference position due to, for example,vibration during operation of the lens moving apparatus 100 or due toworker mistakes during coupling.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 9 , the housing 140 maygenerally have an opening and a hollow column shape (for example, ahollow square column shape) as illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 9 . The housing140 is configured to support at least two driving magnets 130 and theprinted circuit board 170. The bobbin 110 is received in the housing 140so as to be movable in the first direction relative to the housing 140.

The housing 140 has four flat side surfaces 141. Each side surface 141of the housing 140 may have an area equal to or greater than the area ofa corresponding one of the driving magnets 130.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 9 , among the four side surfaces 141of the housing 140, two side surfaces facing each other are providedrespectively with magnet penetration apertures 141 a or recesses inwhich the driving magnets 130 are seated, placed, or fixed. The magnetpenetration apertures 141 a or recesses may have a size and shapecorresponding to the driving magnets 130 and may have any other shapesto implement a guide function. A first driving magnet 131 and a seconddriving magnet 132, i.e. two driving magnets 130 may be mountedrespectively to the magnet penetration apertures 141 a.

In addition, among the four side surfaces 141 of the housing 140, oneside surface perpendicular to the above-described two side surfaces oreither surface except for the above-described two side surfaces may beprovided with a sensor penetration aperture 141 b in which a positionsensor 180 as described below is inserted, placed, fixed, or seated. Thesensor penetration aperture 141 b may have a size and shapecorresponding to the position sensor 180 as described below. Inaddition, the side surface provided with the sensor penetration aperture141 b is further provided with at least one mounting protrusion 149 toassist mounting, placement, provisional fixing, or complete fixing ofthe printed circuit board 170. The mounting protrusion 149 is configuredto be inserted into a mounting aperture 173 formed in the printedcircuit board 170 as described below. At this time, although themounting aperture 173 and the mounting protrusion 149 may be coupled toeach other in a shape-fit manner or an interference-fit manner, themounting aperture 173 and the mounting protrusion 149 may simplyimplement a guide function.

Here, the other side surface opposite to the above-described sidesurface among the four side surfaces 141 of the housing 140 may be aflat solid surface, without being limited thereto.

In an additional embodiment of the housing 140, among the four sidesurfaces 141 of the housing 140, both side surfaces facing each otherare provided with first and second magnet penetration apertures 141 aand 141 a′ in which the driving magnets 130 are seated, placed, orfixed. In addition, among the four side surfaces 141 of the housing 140,one side surface perpendicular to the above-described two side surfacesor either surface except for the above-described two side surfaces maybe provided with a third magnet penetration aperture and a sensorpenetration aperture 141 b spaced apart from the third magnetpenetration aperture by a prescribed distance. Moreover, among the fourside surfaces 141 of the housing 140, the other side surface facing theabove-described side surface provided with the third magnet penetrationaperture may be provided with a fourth magnet penetration aperture.

That is, the four side surfaces 141 of the housing 140 are provided withthe four magnet penetration apertures and the single sensor penetrationaperture 141 b.

At this time, the first magnet penetration aperture 141 a and the secondmagnet penetration aperture 141 a′ have the same size and the same shapeand also have (almost) the same lateral length throughout the laterallength of the side surfaces of the housing 140. On the other hand, thethird magnet penetration aperture and the fourth magnet penetrationaperture may have the same size and the same shape and may also have asmaller lateral length than the first magnet penetration aperture 141 aand the second magnet penetration aperture 141 a′. This serves to attaina space for the sensor penetration aperture 141 b because the sidesurface provided with the third magnet penetration aperture must beprovided with the sensor penetration aperture 141 b.

It will be naturally appreciated that the first driving magnet 131 tothe fourth driving magnet are respectively seated, placed, or fixed inthe first magnet penetration aperture to the fourth magnet penetrationaperture. At this time, likewise, the first driving magnet 131 and thesecond driving magnet 132 have the same size and the same shape and alsohave almost the same lateral length throughout the lateral length of theside surfaces of the housing 140. In addition, the third driving magnetand the fourth driving magnet may have the same size and the same shapeand may also have a smaller lateral length than the first driving magnet131 and the second driving magnet 132.

Here, the third magnet penetration aperture and the fourth magnetpenetration aperture may be symmetrically arranged on a line on thebasis of the center of the housing 140. That is, the third drivingmagnet 130 and the fourth driving magnet 130 may be symmetricallyarranged on a line on the basis of the center of the housing 140. In thecase where the third driving magnet 130 and the fourth driving magnet130 are arranged opposite each other to deviate to one side regardlessof the center of the housing 140, electromagnetic force deviated to oneside may be applied to the coil 120 of the bobbin 110 and, therefore,tilting of the bobbin 110 is possible. In other words, as the thirddriving magnet 130 and the fourth driving magnet 130 are symmetricallyarranged on a line on the basis of the center of the housing 140,electromagnetic force may be applied to the bobbin 110 and the coil 120without deviation, which ensures easy and accurate guidance of thebobbin 110 in the first direction.

In addition, as exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6 and FIG. 8 , aplurality of first stoppers 143 may protrude from an upper surface ofthe housing 140. The first stoppers 143 serve to prevent collisionbetween the cover member 300 and a body of the housing 140 and mayprevent the upper surface of the housing 140 from directly collidingwith an inner ceiling surface of the cover member 300 upon generation ofan external shock. In addition, the first stoppers 143 may serve toguide an installation position of the upper elastic member 150. To thisend, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 9 , the upper elastic member 150may be provided at positions corresponding to the first stoppers 143with guide grooves 155 having a shape corresponding to the shape of thefirst stoppers 143.

In addition, a plurality of upper frame support bosses 144 may protrudefrom the top of the housing 140 so as to be coupled to an outer frame152 of the upper elastic member 150. As will be described below, theouter frame 152 of the upper elastic member 150 corresponding to theupper frame support bosses 144 may be formed with first through-holes152 a or recesses having a shape corresponding to the shape of the upperframe support bosses 144. The upper frame support bosses 144 may befixed to the first through-holes 152 a or recesses using an adhesive orvia fusion. The fusion may be, for example, thermal fusion or ultrasonicfusion.

In addition, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 7 , a plurality of lowerframe support bosses 147 may protrude from the bottom of the housing 140so as to be coupled to outer frames 162 of the lower elastic member 160.The outer frames 162 of the lower elastic member 160 corresponding tothe lower frame support bosses 147 may be formed with insertion recesses162 a or holes having a shape corresponding to the shape of the lowerframe support bosses 147. The lower frame support bosses 147 may befixed to the insertion recesses 162 a or holes using an adhesive or viafusion. The fusion may be, for example, thermal fusion or ultrasonicfusion.

Although the driving magnet 130 may be fixed to the magnet penetrationaperture 141 a using an adhesive, the embodiment is not limited theretoand an adhesive member such as, for example, a double-sided tape may beused. In an alternative embodiment, instead of the magnet penetrationaperture 141 a, a recessed magnet seat may be formed in the innersurface of the housing 140. The magnet seat may have a size and shapecorresponding to the size and shape of the driving magnet 130.

The driving magnets 130 may be installed at positions corresponding tothe coil 120 wound around the bobbin 110. In addition, the drivingmagnets 130 may be configured into a unitary body. In the presentembodiment, each driving magnet 130 may be oriented in such a way thatone surface thereof facing the coil 120 wound around the bobbin 110 isan N-pole and an opposite outer surface thereof is an S-pole. However,the embodiment is not limited thereto and the driving magnet 130 may beoriented in the other way. In addition, the driving magnet 130 may bebisected into planes perpendicular to an optical axis.

The driving magnet 130 may be configured into a cuboid having a constantwidth and may be seated in the magnet penetration aperture 141 a orrecess such that a wide surface of the driving magnet 130 constitutes aportion of the side surface of the housing 140. At this time, thedriving magnets 130 facing each other may be installed parallel to eachother. In addition, the driving magnets 130 may be arranged to face thecoil 120 of the bobbin 110. At this time, facing surfaces of the drivingmagnet 130 and the coil 120 of the bobbin 110 may be placed in parallelplanes. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto. According todesign, only one of the driving magnet 130 and the coil 120 of thebobbin 110 may be formed into a plane and the other one may be formedinto a curved plane. Alternatively, both facing surfaces of the coil 120of the bobbin 110 and the driving magnet 130 may be curved surfaces. Atthis time, the facing surfaces of the coil 120 of the bobbin 110 and thedriving magnet 130 may have the same curvature.

As described above, the sensor penetration aperture 141 b or recess isformed in one side surface of the housing 140, the position sensor 180is inserted, placed, or seated in the sensor penetration aperture 141 b,and the position sensor 180 is electrically coupled to one surface ofthe printed circuit board 170 via soldering. In other words, the printedcircuit board 170 may be fixed to, supported by, or disposed at theexterior of the side surface provided with the sensor penetrationaperture 141 b or recess among the four side surfaces 141 of the housing140.

The position sensor 180 may constitute the displacement sensing unit todetermine a first displacement value in the first direction of thebobbin 110, along with a sensing magnet 190 of the bobbin 110 asdescribed below. To this end, the position sensor 180 and the sensorpenetration aperture 141 b or recess are located at a positioncorresponding to the position of the sensing magnet 190.

The position sensor 180 may be a sensor that senses variation inmagnetic force emitted from the sensing magnet 190 of the bobbin 110. Inaddition, the position sensor 180 may be a hall sensor. However, this isgiven by way of example and the present embodiment is not limited to thehall sensor. Any other sensors capable of sensing variation in magneticforce may be used and any other sensors capable of sensing positionsother than magnetic force may be used. For example, a photo reflectormay be used.

The printed circuit board 170 may be coupled to or disposed at one sidesurface of the housing 140 and may have the mounting aperture 173 orrecess as described above. In this way, the installation position of theprinted circuit board 170 may be guided by the mounting protrusion 149formed at one side surface of the housing 140.

In addition, a plurality of terminals 171 may be arranged at the printedcircuit board 170. The terminals 171 may receive external power andsupply current to the coil 120 of the bobbin 110 and the position sensor180. The number of the terminals 171 formed at the printed circuit board170 may be reduced or increased according to the kinds of constituentelements that need to be controlled. According to the presentembodiment, the printed circuit board 170 may be a flexible printedcircuit board (FPCB).

The printed circuit board 170 may include a controller that readjuststhe amount of current to be applied to the coil 120 based on the firstdisplacement value sensed by the displacement sensing unit. That is, thecontroller is mounted on the printed circuit board 170. In anotherembodiment, the controller may be mounted on a separate substrate ratherthan being mounted on the printed circuit board 170. The separatesubstrate may be a substrate on which the image sensor of the cameramodule is mounted, or any one of other substrates.

An actuator driving distance may be additionally calibrated based on ahall voltage difference with respect to variation in magnetic flux (i.e.magnetic flux density) detected by the hall sensor.

The bobbin 110 is configured to reciprocate in a first axial directionrelative to the housing 140 that is fixed in the first axial direction.Auto-focusing is implemented via movement of the bobbin 110 in the firstaxial direction.

The bobbin 110 will be described below in more detail with reference tothe annexed drawings.

Meanwhile, the upper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160may elastically support upward movement and/or downward movement of thebobbin 110 in the optical axis direction. The upper elastic member 150and the lower elastic member 160 may be leaf springs.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4 and FIGS. 9 and 10 , theupper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160 mayrespectively include inner frames 151 and 161 coupled to the bobbin 110,outer frames 152 and 162 coupled to the housing 140, and connectors 153and 163 connecting the inner frames 151 and 161 and the outer frames 152and 162 to each other.

The connectors 153 and 163 may be bent at least one time to define agiven pattern shape. Through position variation and fine deformation ofthe connectors 153 and 163, upward movement and/or downward movement ofthe bobbin 110 in the optical axis direction, i.e. in the firstdirection may be flexibly (or elastically) supported.

According to the present embodiment, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG.9 , the upper elastic member 150 has the first through-holes 152 aformed in the outer frame 152 and a plurality of second through-holes151 a formed in the inner frame 151.

The first through-holes 152 a may be engaged with the upper framesupport bosses 144 formed at the upper surface of the housing 140, andthe second through-holes 151 a or recesses may be engaged with uppersupport bosses formed at an upper surface of the bobbin 110 as describedbelow. That is, the outer frame 152 is fixed and coupled to the housing140 using the first through-holes 152 a and the inner frame 151 is fixedand coupled to the bobbin 110 using the second through-holes 151 a orrecesses.

The connectors 153 connect the inner frame 151 and the outer frame 152to each other such that the inner frame 151 is elastically deformable inthe first direction relative to the outer frame 152 within a prescribedrange.

At least one of the inner frame 151 and the outer frame 152 of the upperelastic member 150 may be provided with at least one terminal unit thatis electrically connected to at least one of the coil 120 of the bobbin110 and the printed circuit board 170.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 10 , the lower elastic member 160 mayhave the insertion recesses 162 a or holes formed in the outer frames162 and a plurality of third through-holes 161 a or recesses formed inthe inner frames 161.

The insertion recesses 162 a or holes are engaged with the lower framesupport bosses 147 formed at a lower surface of the housing 140, and thethird through-holes 161 a or recesses are engaged with lower supportbosses 114 formed at a lower surface of the bobbin 110 as describedbelow. That is, the outer frames 162 are fixed and coupled to thehousing 140 using the insertion recesses 162 a or holes and the innerframes 161 are fixed and coupled to the bobbin 110 using the thirdthrough-holes 161 a or recesses.

The connectors 163 connect the inner frames 161 and the outer frames 162to each other such that the inner frames 161 are elastically deformablein the first direction relative to the outer frames 162 within aprescribed range.

The lower elastic member 160, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 10 ,may include a first lower elastic member 160 a and a second lowerelastic member 160 b separated from each other. Through this bisectionconfiguration, the first lower elastic member 160 a and the second lowerelastic member 160 b of the lower elastic member 160 may receivedifferent polarities of power or different magnitudes of powers. Thatis, after the inner frames 161 and the outer frames 162 are coupledrespectively to the bobbin 110 and the housing 140, solder balls areprovided at both ends of the coil 120 wound around the bobbin 110 and atcorresponding positions of the inner frames 161. By implementing currentcarrying connection, such as, for example, soldering, at the solderballs, the inner frames 161 and the outer frames 162 may receivedifferent polarities of power or different magnitudes of powers. Inaddition, the first lower elastic member 160 a may be electricallyconnected to one of the ends of the coil 120 and the second lowerelastic member 160 b may be electrically connected to the other end ofthe coil 120 so as to receive current and/or a voltage from an externalsource.

The upper elastic member 150, the lower elastic member 160, the bobbin110, and the housing 140 may be assembled with one another via, forexample, bonding using thermal fusion and/or an adhesive. At this time,according to an assembly sequence, thermal fusion fixing and adhesivebonding may be sequentially implemented to finish a fixing operation.

In an alternative embodiment, the upper elastic member 150 may have abisection configuration and the lower elastic member 160 may have aunitary configuration.

At least one of the inner frames 161 and the outer frames 162 of thelower elastic member 160 may be provided with at least one terminal unitthat is electrically connected to at least one of the coil 120 and theprinted circuit board 170.

The damper serves as an alleviator that absorbs vibration in the opticalaxis direction generated during auto-focusing of the lens movingapparatus. The damper is located between a stationary body that is fixedat an original position without movement during auto-focusing of thelens moving apparatus and a movable body configured to move in theoptical axis direction during auto-focusing of the lens movingapparatus. The stationary body may be, for example, a cover member, ahousing, or a base and the movable body may be, for example, a bobbin ora lens.

Although will be described below, the damper may be located between thebobbin and the housing.

At this time, the bobbin and the housing include a damping connector todefine a receiving space for receiving the damper or an attachmentregion for attachment of the damper. That is, the damping connector iscomposed of a portion of the bobbin and a portion of the housing.

The damper and the damping connector according to the present inventionwill be described below in more detail with reference to the annexeddrawings.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the bobbin 110according to the embodiment, FIG. 12 is a schematic bottom perspectiveview illustrating the bobbin 110 according to the embodiment, FIG. 13 isa schematic exploded perspective view illustrating the bobbin 110according to the embodiment, FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged perspectiveview of FIG. 13 , FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged bottom view of FIG. 13, FIG. 16 is a schematic partially enlarged perspective viewillustrating a receiving recess 117 according to an embodiment, and FIG.17 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating the bobbin110 according to the embodiment.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 17 , the bobbin 110 may beinstalled in an inner space of the housing 140 so as to reciprocate inthe optical axis direction. The coil 120 as described below may beaffixed to an outer circumferential surface of the bobbin 110 so as toelectromagnetically interact with the driving magnets 130 of the housing140. Thereby, the bobbin 110 may reciprocate in the first direction viaelectromagnetic interaction of the coil 120 and the driving magnets 130.In addition, the bobbin 110 may be flexibly (or elastically) supportedby the upper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160 andmoved in the first direction as the optical axis direction so as toperform auto-focusing.

Although not illustrated, the bobbin 110 may include a lens barrel (notillustrated) in which at least one lens is received. However, the lensbarrel is merely a constituent element and may not be an essentialconstituent element of the lens moving apparatus. The lens barrel may becoupled inside the bobbin 110 in various manners. For example, femalescrew-threads may be formed at an inner circumferential surface of thebobbin 110 and male screw-threads corresponding to the femalescrew-threads may be formed at an outer circumferential surface of thelens barrel such that the lens barrel may be fastened to the bobbin 110via screwing. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto and,instead of forming screw-threads at the inner circumferential surface ofthe bobbin 110, the lens barrel may be directly fixed inside the bobbin110 via various other methods except for screwing. Alternatively, onesheet of lens may be integrally formed with the bobbin 110 without thelens barrel. The lens coupled to the lens barrel may be one sheet oflens, or two or more lenses may compose an optical system.

In addition, a plurality of upper support bosses 113 and a plurality oflower support bosses 114 may protrude from the upper surface and thelower surface of the bobbin 110.

The upper support bosses 113, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 11 ,may have a cylindrical shape or a prism shape and serve to couple andfix the inner frame 151 of the upper elastic member 150 to the bobbin110. According to the present embodiment, the inner frame 151 of theupper elastic member 150 may be formed with the second through-holes 151a or recesses at positions corresponding to the upper support bosses113. At this time, the upper support bosses 113 and the secondthrough-holes 151 a or recesses may be fixed to each other via thermalfusion, or may be fixed to each other using an adhesive member such as,for example, epoxy. In addition, there may be provided a plurality ofupper support bosses. At this time, the upper support bosses may bespaced apart from one another by an appropriate distance to preventinterference with nearby constituent elements. That is, the uppersupport bosses may be symmetrically arranged about the center of thebobbin 110 so as to be spaced apart from one another by a constantdistance. Alternatively, the upper support bosses may be symmetricallyarranged about a specific virtual line passing through the center of thebobbin 110, but may not be spaced apart from one another by a constantdistance.

The lower support bosses 114, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 12 ,may have a cylindrical shape or a prism shape and serve to couple andfix the inner frame 161 of the lower elastic member 160 to the bobbin110. According to the present embodiment, the inner frame 161 of thelower elastic member 160 may be formed with the third through-holes 161a or recesses at positions corresponding to the lower support bosses114. At this time, the lower support bosses 114 and the thirdthrough-holes 161 a or recesses may be fixed to each other via thermalfusion, or may be fixed to each other using an adhesive member such as,for example, epoxy. In addition, there may be provided a plurality oflower support bosses 114 as illustrated in FIG. 12 . At this time, thelower support bosses 114 may be spaced apart from one another by anappropriate distance to prevent interference with nearby constituentelements. That is, the lower support bosses 114 may be symmetricallyarranged about the center of the bobbin 110 so as to be spaced apartfrom one another by a constant distance.

In addition, the bobbin 110 is formed at the upper surface and the lowersurface thereof with upper escape recesses 112 and lower escape recesses118 at positions corresponding to the connectors 153 of the upperelastic member 150 and the connectors 163 of the lower elastic member160.

Through provision of the upper escape recesses 112 and the lower escaperecesses 118, when the bobbin 110 is moved in the first directionrelative to the housing 140, there is no spatial interference betweenthe connectors 153 and 163 and the bobbin 110 and the connectors 153 and163 may be more easily elastically deformed. In addition, although theupper escape recesses may be located at corners of the housing 140 as inthe embodiment, the upper escape recesses may be located at the sidesurfaces of the housing according to the shape and/or position of theconnectors of the elastic member.

In addition, although the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin110 may be provided with a coil seating recess 116 for installation ofthe coil 120, only a seating portion may be provided.

Although the coil 120 may take the form of a ring-shaped coil blockinserted into and coupled to the outer circumferential surface, the coilseating recess 116, or the seating portion of the bobbin 110, theembodiment is not limited thereto and the coil 120 may be directly woundaround the outer circumferential surface, the coil seating recess 116,or the seating portion of the bobbin 110.

According to the present embodiment, the coil 120 may have anapproximately octagonal shape as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 13 .This shape corresponds to the shape of the outer circumferential surfaceof the bobbin 110 and the bobbin 110 may also have an octagonal shape.In addition, at least four sides of the coil 120 may be linear sides andcorners connecting the linear sides may be rounded or linearly formed.At this time, the linear sides of the coil 120 may correspond to thedriving magnets 130. In addition, surfaces of the driving magnets 130corresponding to the coil 120 may have the same curvature as the coil120. That is, when the coil 120 has a linear shape, the correspondingsurfaces of the driving magnets 130 may be flat formed. When the coil120 has a curved shape, the corresponding surfaces of the drivingmagnets 130 may be curved and have the same curvature. In addition, evenif the coil 120 is curved, the corresponding surfaces of the drivingmagnets 130 may be flat surfaces, and vice versa.

The coil 120 serves to move the bobbin 110 in the optical axis directionso as to perform auto-focusing. The coil 120 may create electromagneticforce via electromagnetic interaction with the driving magnets 130 uponreceiving current, and the created electromagnetic force may move thebobbin 110.

Meanwhile, the coil 120 may be configured to correspond to the drivingmagnets 130. When the driving magnets 130 are configured into a unitarybody as illustrated such that the entire surfaces of the driving magnets130 facing the coil 120 have the same polarity, the coil 120 may beconfigured such that surface portions thereof corresponding to thedriving magnets 130 have the same polarity. On the other hand, althoughnot illustrated, in the case where each driving magnet 130 is bisectedinto planes perpendicular to the optical axis such that a surfacethereof facing the coil 120 is divided into two or more sections, thecoil 120 may also be divided into a plurality of parts equal in numberto the divided sections of the driving magnet 130.

The bobbin 110 includes the sensing magnet 190, which is included in thedisplacement sensing unit along with the position sensor 180 of thehousing 140 as described above. The sensing magnet 190 is fixed orcoupled to, or disposed at the bobbin 110. In this way, the sensingmagnet 190 may be moved in the first direction by the same displacementas the bobbin 110 when the bobbin 110 is moved in the first direction.In addition, the sensing magnet 190 may be configured into a unitarybody and disposed such that the top of the bobbin 110 is an N-pole andthe bottom of the bobbin 110 is an S-pole. However, the embodiment isnot limited thereto and the sensing magnet 190 may be configured in theother way. In addition, the sensing magnet 190 may be bisected intoplanes perpendicular to the optical axis.

Here, as exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 17 , the bobbin 110 maybe provided at the outer circumferential surface thereof with thereceiving recess 117 for receiving the sensing magnet 190.

The receiving recess 117 may be indented inward of the bobbin 110 fromthe outer circumferential surface of the bobbin 110 by a prescribeddepth.

Specifically, the receiving recess 117 is formed in one side of thebobbin 110 such that at least a portion of the receiving recess 117 islocated inside the coil 120. In addition, at least a portion of thereceiving recess 117 may be indented inward of the bobbin 110 by aprescribed greater depth than a depth of the coil seating recess 116. Asthe receiving recess 117 is indented inward of the bobbin 110, thesensing magnet 190 may be received in the bobbin 110. As such, spaceutility of the bobbin 110 may be improved because it is unnecessary toprovide a separate installation space for the sensing magnet 190.

In particular, the receiving recess 117 is located at a positioncorresponding to a position of the position sensor 180 of the housing140 (or a position opposite to the position sensor 180). In this way, adistance between the sensing magnet 190 and the position sensor 180includes a thickness of the coil 120 and a distance between the coil 120and the position sensor 180 or a distance between the coil 120 and thesensing magnet 190 and may have a minimum value, which may enhance themagnetic force sensing precision of the position sensor 180.

The receiving recess 117 has an opening 119 formed in one of the lowersurface and the upper surface of the bobbin 110 so as to communicatewith the receiving recess 117. For example, as exemplarily illustratedin FIG. 17 , a portion of the lower surface of the bobbin 110 may beopen to form the opening 119 and the opening 119 may define an entranceof the receiving recess 117. The sensing magnet 190 may be inserted,placed, or fixed through the opening 119 and may be separated throughthe opening 119.

More specifically, as exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 17 , thereceiving recess 117 may include an inner surface for supporting onesurface of the sensing magnet 190 and an adhesion recess 117 b inwardlyindented from the inner surface by a prescribed depth so as to allow anadhesive to be injected thereinto.

The inner surface of the receiving recess 117 is an inwardly orientedsurface toward the center of the bobbin 110. In the case where thesensing magnet 190 is shaped into a cuboid, a wide surface of thesensing magnet 190 comes into contact with or is seated on the innersurface of the receiving recess 117.

The adhesion recess 117 b may be formed as a portion of the innersurface is more deeply indented inward of the bobbin 110 toward thecenter of the bobbin 110. The adhesion recess 117 b may be formed fromthe opening 119 to an inner surface of the bobbin 110 that comes intocontact with one surface of the sensing magnet 190, or on which onesurface of the sensing magnet 190 is seated or disposed.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 17 , the adhesion recess 117 b isprovided with a first additional recess 117 c and the first additionalrecess 117 c is longer than the sensing magnet 190 in a verticalthickness direction of the bobbin 110. That is, the first additionalrecess 117 c is an extension of the adhesion recess 117 b that is moredeeply indented than one inner surface of the bobbin 110 that comes intocontact with a back surface of the sensing magnet 190, or on which aback surface of the sensing magnet 190 is seated or disposed. Throughprovision of the first additional recess 117 c, when an adhesive isinjected into the adhesion recess 117 b through the opening 119, theadhesive begins to be charged into the first additional recess 117 c tothereby be charged into the adhesion recess 117 b. Therefore, it ispossible to prevent the adhesive from overflowing the adhesion recess117 b and moving to the coil 120 along a gap between the sensing magnet190 and the receiving recess 117, which may reduce the defect rate ofthe lens moving apparatus 100 during coupling of the sensing magnet 190.

In addition, the adhesion recess 117 b is further provided with a secondadditional recess 117 a having a prescribed depth in an inward directionfrom the opening 119 to the center of the bobbin 110. That is, thesecond additional recess 117 a is more deeply formed in the vicinity ofthe opening 119 than the inner surface in an inward direction toward thecenter of the bobbin 110. The second additional recess 117 a is incommunication with the adhesion recess 117 b. In other words, the secondadditional recess 117 a is an extension of the adhesion recess 117 b.Through provision of the second additional recess 117 a, an adhesive maybe injected into the adhesion recess 117 b through the second additionalrecess 117 a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the adhesive fromoverflowing in the vicinity of the opening 119 and being adhered toother components of the bobbin 110 such as, for example, the coil 120,which may reduce the defect rate of the lens moving apparatus 100 duringcoupling of the sensing magnet 190.

In an alternative embodiment, the second additional recess 117 a may beformed alone in the bobbin 110 without the adhesion recess 117 b. Inthis case, the bobbin 110 and the sensing magnet 190 may be coupled andfixed to each other as an adhesive is injected into the secondadditional recess 117 a.

The adhesion recess 117 b may include at least one of the firstadditional recess 117 c and the second additional recess 117 a. That is,the adhesion recess 117 b may include only the first additional recess117 c or only the second additional recess 117 a.

In an alternative embodiment, a depth between the inner surface of thereceiving recess, by which one surface (i.e. a wide surface) of thesensing magnet is supported, and an outer circumferential surface (i.e.a coil seating recess surface) of the receiving recess, around which thecoil is wound, may be equal to or less than a thickness of the sensingmagnet. In this way, the sensing magnet may be fixed in the receivingrecess as the coil inwardly applies pressure thereto during windingthereof. In this case, the adhesive is unnecessary.

In an additional embodiment, although not illustrated in the drawings,the bobbin 110 may further include an additional receiving recess 117formed in the outer circumferential surface thereof at an oppositeposition symmetrical to the receiving recess 117 about the center of thebobbin 110 and a weight balance member received in the additionalreceiving recess 117.

That is, the additional receiving recess 117 is formed in the outercircumferential surface of the bobbin 110 and extends in an inwarddirection of the bobbin 110 by a prescribed depth at an oppositeposition linearly symmetrical to the receiving recess 117 about thecenter of the bobbin 110. In addition, the weight balance member isfixed to and coupled in the additional receiving recess 117 and has thesame weight as the sensing magnet 190.

Through provision of the additional receiving recess 117 and the weightbalance member, horizontal weight unbalance of the bobbin 110 due toprovision of the receiving recess 117 and the sensing magnet 190 may becompensated.

The additional receiving recess 117 may include at least one of theadhesion recess 117 b, the first additional recess 117 c and the secondadditional recess 117 a.

FIG. 18 is a bottom view illustrating the bobbin 110 and the housing 140according to the embodiment, FIG. 19 is a schematic longitudinalsectional view illustrating the bobbin, 110, the housing 140, and thecover member 300 according to one embodiment, FIG. 20 is a schematiclongitudinal sectional view illustrating the bobbin 110, the housing140, and the cover member 300 according to another embodiment, and FIG.21 is a schematic longitudinal sectional illustrating the bobbin 110 andthe cover member 300 according to a further embodiment.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 18 , dampers 410 are provided betweenthe housing 140 and the bobbin 110. However, the present embodiment isnot limited thereto and the dampers 410 may be provided between themoving body and the stationary body of the lens moving apparatus 100according to the present embodiment as described above.

The dampers 410 serve to attenuate vibration in the first direction(i.e. the optical axis direction) via electromagnetic interactionbetween the driving magnets 130 and the coil 120.

The dampers 410 are located at both the bobbin 110 and the housing 140to allow the bobbin 110 to be movable relative to the housing 140 in thefirst direction within a prescribed range.

To this end, the dampers 410 are formed of a photo-curable resin.Specifically, the dampers 410 may be formed of a UV-curable resin and,more particularly, may be formed of UV-curable silicon.

The dampers 410 are provided in a semi-cured gel state in order to allowthe bobbin 110 to be movable in the optical axis direction within aprescribed range, rather than being completely secured to the housing140.

Here, to implement semi-curing of the dampers 410, a space between thebobbin 110 and the housing 140 (i.e. a space in which the dampers 410are accommodated) and the dampers 410 are exposed to light (or UV) for agiven time.

In addition, the dampers 410 are provided at a plurality of positionsbetween the housing 140 and the bobbin 110. In this case, the dampers410 may be spaced apart from one another by the same angle in acircumferential direction of the housing 140 and the bobbin 110. Thisserves to uniformly absorb optical axis directional vibration around thebobbin 110 caused by movement of the bobbin 110 during auto-focusing ofthe lens moving apparatus 100, thereby preventing the optical axisdirectional vibration of the bobbin 110 from being concentrated in alateral direction.

In the case where an even number of dampers 410 are provided, thedampers 410 may be arranged between the bobbin 110 and the housing 140such that the dampers 410 of each pair are arranged opposite to eachother.

The bobbin 110 and the housing 140 include damping connectors 420. Inother words, each damping connector 420 is composed of a portion of thebobbin 110 and a portion of the housing 140.

The damping connectors 420 are configured to increase an attachment areaof the dampers 410 in order to increase an attenuation area of thedampers 410.

In addition, the damping connectors 420 are configured to allow thedampers 410 to be safely received or fixed between the bobbin 110 andthe housing 140. This is because the dampers 410 are in a liquid stateor a semi-liquid state prior to undergoing a semi-curing process and,therefore, when the dampers 410 are introduced between the bobbin 110and the housing 140, the dampers 410 have difficulty in remaining at agiven position between the bobbin 110 and the housing 140.

Each damping connector 420 is configured such that a portion of thebobbin 110 and a portion of the housing 140 overlap each other within aprescribed spatial range in the plan view of the lens moving apparatus100.

Specifically, the damping connector 420 includes a damping protrusion421 formed at one of the bobbin 110 and the housing 140 and a dampingreceiving recess 423 formed in the other one.

That is, the damping protrusion 421 may be formed at the bobbin 110 andthe damping receiving recess 423 may be formed in the housing 140.Alternatively, the damping protrusion 421 may be formed at the housing140 and the damping receiving recess 423 may be formed in the bobbin110.

Hereinafter, for clarity of description, the case where the dampingprotrusion 421 is formed at the bobbin 110 and the damping receivingrecess 423 is formed in the housing 140 will be described.

A plurality of damping protrusions 421 is formed at one of the bobbin110 and the housing 140 at positions facing the other one of the bobbin110 and the housing 140. That is, assuming that the bobbin 110 and thehousing 140 have surfaces facing each other and the facing surface ofthe bobbin 110 is a first facing surface P1 and the facing surface ofthe housing 140 is a second facing surface P2, the damping protrusions421 are formed at the first facing surface P1 as exemplarily illustratedin FIGS. 18 to 21 . Of course, in the case where the damping protrusions421 are formed at the housing 140, the damping protrusions 421 may beformed at the second facing surface P2.

The damping protrusions 421 horizontally protrude from the first facingsurface P1 of the bobbin 110 toward the housing 140 or the second facingsurface P2 by a prescribed length. Each damping protrusion 421 maygenerally take the form of a plate.

The damping protrusions 421 have a prescribed thickness. The prescribedthickness of the damping protrusions 421 is less than a height ofdamping receiving recesses 423 as described below.

A plurality of damping receiving recesses 423 is formed in the secondfacing surface P2 of the housing 140 at positions corresponding topositions of the damping protrusions 421.

Each of the damping receiving recesses 423 is indented in the secondfacing surface P2 so as to receive a portion of the damping protrusion421 and the damper 410. That is, the damping receiving recess 423 isindented in the second facing surface P2 of the housing 140 in anoutward direction from the center of the housing 140.

In addition, the damping receiving recess 423 has a prescribed width(i.e. a horizontal left-and-right length) and a prescribed height (i.e.a vertical up-and-down length). At this time, the damping receivingrecess 423 is configured such that a prescribed width of the dampingreceiving recess 423 is greater than a width of the damping protrusion421 and a prescribed height of the damping receiving recess 423 isgreater than a prescribed thickness of the damping protrusion 421.

Describing this differently, the damping receiving recess 423 and thedamping protrusion 421 are formed respectively at the housing 140 andthe bobbin 110 such that facing surfaces thereof are spaced apart fromeach other by a prescribed distance. The damper 410 is located,attached, or charged in a receiving space defined by the facing surfacesof the damping receiving recess 423 and the damping protrusion 421 whichare spaced apart from each other by a prescribed distance.

The damping receiving recess 423 has a stepped portion 423 a, which isdelimited by the inner surface of the housing 140 at an upper portion ora lower portion of the housing 140. For example, in the case where thedamping receiving recess 423 is formed in a lower portion of the housing140, the stepped portion 423 a is formed parallel to the lower surfaceof the housing 140 among the inner surface of the housing 140. For thesame object, in the case where the damping receiving recess 423 isformed in an upper portion of the housing 140, the stepped portion 423 ais formed parallel to the upper surface of the housing 140 among theinner surface of the housing 140. Owing to the stepped portion 423 a,the damper 410 prior to a semi-curing process may remain at a givenposition in the damping receiving recess 423 of the housing 140 and,accordingly, an operator may stably maintain the damper 410 at a desiredposition, which may facilitate a final forming process, i.e. asemi-curing process of the damper 410.

The damper 410 is attached to or received in the damping receivingrecess 423 so as to surround the entire outer surface of a portion ofthe damping protrusion 421 by a prescribed thickness. That is, thedamper 410 is configured to surround upper and lower surfaces, a frontsurface and both lateral surfaces of a portion of the damping protrusion421 received in the damping receiving recess 423, the stepped portion423 a and both lateral surfaces of the damping receiving recess 423, anda surface of the damping receiving recess 423 facing the front surfaceof the damping protrusion 421.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 18 , the dampers 410, the dampingprotrusions 421, and the damping receiving recesses 423 are located atcorners of the facing surfaces of the bobbin 110 and the housing 140. Inthis case, the driving magnets 130 are seated, placed, or fixed at thesecond facing surface P2 of the housing 140. That is, the dampers 410,the damping protrusions 421, and the damping receiving recesses 423 arelocated at surface positions not overlapping with surface positionswhere the driving magnets 130 are seated.

FIGS. 19 to 21 illustrate various embodiments with regard to positionsof the damper 410, the damping protrusion 421, and the damping receivingrecess 423 formed at the bobbin 110 and the housing 140 based on heightsthereof from corners of the facing surfaces of the bobbin 110 and thehousing 140.

First, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 19 , according to oneembodiment, the damping protrusion 421 is formed at the lower portion ofthe bobbin 110 and the damping receiving recess 423 has a greater heightthan a height of the damping protrusion 421 from an open lower end ofthe housing 140 (i.e. a beginning portion of the damping receivingrecess 423).

That is, the damping protrusion 421 and the damping receiving recess 423are formed such that the stepped portion 423 a of the damping receivingrecess 423 is located higher than the upper surface of the dampingprotrusion 421 by a prescribed height.

When an assembly process of the lens moving apparatus 100 is completedin such a situation, the open lower end of the housing 140 and thedamper 410 are hermetically sealed by the housing 140 and the uppersurface of the base 210 coupled to the lower end of the bobbin 110. Thatis, the damper 410 is shield by the upper surface of the base 210 so asnot to be outwardly exposed.

Accordingly, since a washing process of the lens moving apparatus 100 isimplemented in a state in which the damper 410 is shield by the base 210so as not to be outwardly exposed, the damper 410 may not be affected bya hydraulic pressure of washing liquid, which may surely prevent loss ordestruction of the damper 410 due to the washing process of the lensmoving apparatus 100.

In addition, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 20 , according toanother embodiment, the damping protrusion 421 is formed at the upperportion of the bobbin 110 and the damping receiving recess 423 has aless height than a height of the damping protrusion 421 from an openupper end of the housing 140 (i.e. a beginning portion of the dampingreceiving recess 423).

That is, the damping protrusion 421 and the damping receiving recess 423are formed such that the stepped portion 423 a of the damping receivingrecess 423 is located lower than the lower surface of the dampingprotrusion 421 by a prescribed height.

When an assembly process of the lens moving apparatus 100 is completedin such a situation, the open upper end of the housing 140 and thedamper 410 are hermetically sealed by the housing 140 and/or a topsurface (i.e. an inner ceiling surface) of the cover member 300 coupledto the upper end of the bobbin 110. That is, the damper 410 is shield bythe upper surface of the cover member 300 so as not to be outwardlyexposed.

Accordingly, since a washing process of the lens moving apparatus 100 isimplemented in a state in which the damper 410 is shield by the covermember 300 so as not to be outwardly exposed, the damper 410 may not beaffected by a hydraulic pressure of washing liquid, which may surelyprevent loss or destruction of the damper 410 due to the washing processof the lens moving apparatus 100.

In addition, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 21 , according toanother embodiment, the damping protrusion 421 is formed at the firstfacing surface P1 of the bobbin 110 at a middle height of the bobbin 110and the damping receiving recess 423 has a greater height than a heightof the damping protrusion 421 from the open lower end of the housing140.

At this time, the driving coil 120 provided at the bobbin 110 may bewound at the upper and lower sides of the damping protrusion 421 so asto avoid the damping protrusion 421.

In this case, since the damper 410 is deeply located in the bobbin 110and the housing 140 on the basis of the lower ends of the bobbin 110 andthe housing 140, the damper 410 is substantially not affected by thehydraulic pressure of washing liquid even if a washing process of thelens moving apparatus 100 is implemented in a state in which the openlower end of the housing 140 and the damper 410 are not hermeticallysealed by the base 210. That is, according to the present embodiment,there is no risk of destruction of the damper 410 even if the washingprocess is implemented prior to coupling the base 210 with the housing140 and/or the bobbin 110.

Although not illustrated in the drawings, in an alternative embodiment,the damping protrusion 421 may be formed at the first facing surface P1of the bobbin 110 at a middle height of the bobbin 110 and may have alower height than a height of the damping protrusion 421 from the openupper end of the housing 140.

Even in this case, similar to the above-described embodiment, the damper410 is substantially not affected by the hydraulic pressure of washingliquid even if a washing process of the lens moving apparatus 100 isimplemented in a state in which the open upper end of the housing 140and the damper 410 are not hermetically sealed by the cover member 300.That is, according to the present embodiment, there is no risk ofdestruction of the damper 410 even if the washing process is implementedprior to coupling the cover member 300 with the housing 140 and/or thebobbin 110.

FIG. 22 is a schematic bottom side view illustrating the bobbin 110 andthe housing 140 according to an additional embodiment.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 22 , the damping protrusion 421 andthe damping receiving recess 423 may be formed at the facing surfaces ofthe bobbin 110 and the housing 140, rather than being formed at cornersof the facing surfaces of the bobbin 110 and the housing 140.

In this case, the driving magnets 130 are seated, placed, or fixed atcorners of the second facing surface P2 of the housing 140. That is, thedampers 410, the damping protrusions 421 and the damping receivingrecesses 423 are formed at surface positions not overlapping withsurface positions where the driving magnets 130 are seated. However, thepresent embodiment is not limited to the above-described positions withrespect to a positional relationship between the driving magnets 130 andthe dampers 410.

In the case of the present embodiment, similar to the above descriptionwith reference to FIGS. 19 to 21 , the dampers 410, the dampingprotrusions 421 and the damping receiving recesses 423 may be formed atthe facing surfaces of the bobbin 110 and the housing 140 at variousheights according to various embodiments.

FIG. 23A is a graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration of aconventional lens moving apparatus 100 having no damper 410, FIG. 23B isa graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration of the lensmoving apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 23Cis a graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration of the lensmoving apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment in the casewhere the dampers 410 are destroyed by a washing process of the lensmoving apparatus 100.

In the case where the dampers 410 for auto-focusing of the lens movingapparatus 100 are not provided, as illustrated in the graph of avibration experimental result during auto-focusing of the lens movingapparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 23A, it can be confirmed that aresonance point or a resonance section (see a red circular mark) atwhich an amplitude is maximized is generated.

Differently, according to the present embodiment, in the case where thedampers 410 for auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100 areprovided, as illustrated in the graph of a vibration experimental resultduring auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100 illustrated inFIG. 23B, it can be confirmed that the resonance point or the resonancesection, illustrated in the graph of a vibration experimental resultduring auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100 illustrated inFIG. 23A, is removed.

However, even in the case of the lens moving apparatus 100 having thedampers 410, destruction of a portion or the entirety of each damper 410by the hydraulic pressure of washing liquid may frequently occur duringthe washing process. Thereby, as illustrated in the graph of a vibrationexperimental result during auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus100 illustrated in FIG. 23C, it can be confirmed that a resonance pointor a resonance section (see a red circular mark) at which an amplitudeis maximized is again generated.

In the present embodiment, in order to prevent generation of theresonance point or the resonance section due to loss or destruction ofthe dampers 410 caused by the washing process, as described above, thedamping connectors 420 for safe reception, placement, or fixing of thedamper 410 are provided and the dampers 410 and the damping connectors420 are positioned such that the dampers 410 are hermetically sealed bythe base 210 and/or the cover member 300 so as not to be outwardlyexposed during the washing process.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the dampers areinterposed between the bobbin and the housing, thereby attenuatingoptical axis directional vibration of the bobbin during implementationof auto-focusing. In this way, the present embodiment may preventresonance of the lens moving apparatus in the optical axis directionduring implementation of auto-focusing. As a result, the presentembodiment may prevent damage or breakage of the upper elastic memberand/or the lower elastic member which connect the bobbin and the housingto each other.

In addition, by providing the damping connectors to increase anattachment area of the dampers between the bobbin and the housing, thepresent embodiment may increase an attenuation area of the dampers,thereby more efficiently removing resonance during implementation ofauto-focusing and improving attachment safety of the dampers between thebobbin and the housing.

In addition, by providing the dampers between the bobbin and thehousing, the present embodiment may prevent the dampers from beingoutwardly exposed during the washing process of the assembled lensmoving apparatus in the manufacture of the lens moving apparatus and,consequently, may prevent destruction of a portion or the entirety ofeach damper by the hydraulic pressure of washing liquid during thewashing process.

In addition, a camera module may be constructed by coupling a lens tothe lens moving apparatus and providing an image sensor and a printedcircuit board on which the image sensor is disposed below the lensmoving apparatus. The base of the lens moving apparatus and the printedcircuit board on which the image sensor is disposed may be coupled toeach other.

FIG. 24 is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view illustratingthe damper 410 and the damping connector 420 according to oneembodiment, FIG. 25 is a schematic partially enlarged plan viewillustrating the damper 410 and the damping connector 420 according tothe embodiment, and FIG. 26 is a schematic partially enlargedlongitudinal sectional view illustrating the damper 410 and the dampingconnector 420 according to the embodiment taken along line A-A of FIG.25 .

The dampers 410 may be located at a plurality of positions between theinner frame 151 or 161 of at least one elastic member among the upperelastic member and the lower elastic member and the housing 140.

That is, as exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 24 to 26 , the dampers 410may be located between the inner frame 151 of the upper elastic memberand the housing 140. Alternatively, although not illustrated in thedrawings, the dampers 410 may be located between the inner frame 161 ofthe lower elastic member and the housing 140. Alternatively, the dampers410 may be located between the inner frame 151 of the upper elasticmember and the housing 140 and between the inner frame 161 of the lowerelastic member and the housing 140.

Hereinafter, in order to avoid repeated description, as illustrated inthe drawings, the following description may be based on the case wherethe dampers 410 are located between the inner frame 151 of the upperelastic member and the housing 140.

The dampers 410 may serve to attenuate vibration in the first direction(i.e. the optical axis direction) via electromagnetic interactionbetween the driving magnets 130 and the coil 120.

The dampers 410 may be provided at the bobbin 110 and the housing 140 toallow the bobbin 110 to be movable relative to the housing 140 in thefirst direction within a prescribed range.

To this end, the dampers 410 may be formed of a photo-curable resin.Specifically, the dampers 410 may be formed of a UV-curable resin and,more particularly, may be formed of UV-curable silicon or dampingsilicon, or damping members.

The dampers 410 may be provided in a semi-cured gel state in order toallow the bobbin 110 to be movable in the optical axis direction withina prescribed range rather than being completely secured to the housing140.

Here, to implement semi-curing of the dampers 410, a space between theinner frame 151 and the housing 140 (i.e. a space in which the dampers410 are accommodated) and the dampers 410 are exposed to light (or UV)or heat for a given time.

In addition, the dampers 410 may be provided between the housing 140 andthe inner frame 151. In this case, the dampers 410 may be spaced apartfrom one another by the same angle in a circumferential direction of thehousing 140 and the inner frame 151. This serves to uniformly absorboptical axis directional vibration around the bobbin 110 caused bymovement of the bobbin 110 during auto-focusing of the lens movingapparatus 100, thereby preventing the optical axis directional vibrationof the bobbin 110 from being concentrated in a lateral direction.

In the case where an even number of dampers 410 are provided, thedampers 410 may be arranged between the inner frame 151 and the housing140 so as to make a pair, or such that the dampers 410 of each pair faceeach other.

The inner frame 151 and the housing 140 may include the dampingconnectors 420. In other words, each damping connector 420 may becomposed of a portion of the inner frame 151 and a portion of thehousing 140.

The damping connectors 420 may delimit receiving spaces for the dampers410. In addition, the damping connectors 420 may be configured toincrease an attachment area of the dampers 410 in order to increase anattenuation area of the dampers 410.

In addition, the damping connectors 420 may be configured to allow thedampers 410 to be safely received or fixed between the inner frame 151and the housing 140. This is because the dampers 410 are in a liquidstate or a semi-liquid state prior to undergoing a semi-curing processand, therefore, when the dampers 410 are introduced between the innerframe 151 and the housing 140, the dampers 410 have difficulty inremaining at a given position between the inner frame 151 and thehousing 140.

The damping connectors 420 may be configured such that a portion of theinner frame 151 and a portion of the housing 140 overlap each otherwithin a prescribed spatial range in the plan view of the lens movingapparatus 100.

Specifically, each damping connector 420 includes a damping protrusion421 formed at the inner frame 151 and a damping receiving recess 423formed in the housing 140.

The damping protrusion 421 and the damping receiving recess 423 may bearranged to face each other between the inner frame 151 and the housing140.

The damping protrusion 421 may be formed at a surface of the inner frame151 facing the housing 140. Specifically, assuming that the inner frame151 of the upper elastic member and the housing 140 have surfaces facingeach other and, the facing surface of the inner frame 151 is a firstfacing surface and the facing surface of the housing 140 is a secondfacing surface, the damping protrusion 421 may horizontally extend in anoutward direction (i.e. toward the inner surface of the housing 140)from the first facing surface by a prescribed length as exemplarilyillustrated in FIGS. 24 to 27 .

The damping protrusion 421 may generally take the form of a plate.

The damping protrusion 421 may have a prescribed thickness. Theprescribed thickness of the damping protrusion 421 may be equal to athickness of the upper elastic member.

In addition, the damping protrusion 421 may extend in the samehorizontal plane as a horizontal plane of the upper elastic member.

A portion of the damping protrusion 421 may be located in the dampingreceiving recess 423. At this time, a lower surface of the portion ofthe damping protrusion 421 may be located higher than a bottom portion423 a of the damping receiving recess 423 by a prescribed height.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the damping protrusion421 may have at least one perforation 421 a. The perforation 421 a maybe perforated in a thickness direction of the damping protrusion 421.Here, the perforation 421 a may serve to increase an exposure area of aportion of the damper 410 located below the damping protrusion 421.Through provision of the perforation 421 a, it is possible toconsiderably reduce a time required for a semi-curing process for makingthe damper 410 into a semi-cured get state and, consequently, to reducethe entire manufacture time of the lens moving apparatus.

At this time, according to the present embodiment, as exemplarilyillustrated in FIG. 24 , the perforation 421 a may be incised tooutwardly open a portion of a free end of the damping protrusion 421. Atthis time, preferably, the incised perforation 421 a may have asemicircular shape. However, this is given by way of example and thepresent embodiment is not limited to this shape.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the damping protrusion421 may have lateral extensions 421 b extending in opposite directionsfrom a free end of the damping protrusion 421. The lateral extensions421 b may horizontally extend toward both side surfaces of the dampingreceiving recess 423.

At this time, the lateral extensions 421 b may be arranged such thatfacing surfaces of the lateral extensions 421 b and the dampingreceiving recess 423 or lateral partitions 430 as described below may bespaced apart from each other.

The outer frame 152 may have an outwardly bent portion or an outwardlyincised portion 425 at a position corresponding to a position of thedamping receiving recess 423. This serves to remove spatial interferencebetween a portion of the damping protrusion 421 and the outer frame 152since the damping protrusion 421 of the inner frame 151 and the outerframe 152 need to be located in the same horizontal plane and a portionof the damping protrusion 421 needs to be received in the dampingreceiving recess 423.

A plurality of damping receiving recess 423 may be formed in the secondfacing surface of the housing 140 at positions corresponding topositions of the damping protrusions 421.

Each damping receiving recess 423 may be indented in the second facingsurface so as to receive a portion of the damping protrusion 421 and thedamper 410. That is, the damping receiving recess 423 may be indented inthe second facing surface of the housing 140 in an outward directionfrom the center of the housing 140.

Through provision of the damping receiving recess 423 as describedabove, when charging the damper 410 in a liquid state prior toundergoing a semi-curing process into between the inner frame 151 andthe housing 140, it is possible to stabilize a position of the damper140 and to adjust the amount of a material used as the damper 410 so asto correspond to a volume of the damping receiving recess 423, which mayminimize the amount of the material used as the damper 410.

In addition, the damping receiving recess 423 has a prescribed width(i.e. a horizontal left-and-right length) and a prescribed height ordepth (i.e. a vertical up-and-down length). At this time, the dampingreceiving recess 423 is configured such that a prescribed width of thedamping receiving recess 423 is greater than a width of the dampingprotrusion 421 and a prescribed height of the damping receiving recess423 is greater than a prescribed thickness of the damping protrusion421.

That is, the damping receiving recess 423 may be formed in the housing140 at a position corresponding to a position of the damping protrusion421 by a prescribed depth from the upper surface of the housing 140.

Describing this differently, the damping receiving recess 423 and thedamping protrusion 421 are formed at the upper elastic member and thehousing 140 such that the facing surfaces of the upper elastic memberand the housing 140 are spaced apart from each other by a prescribeddistance. The damper 410 is located, attached, or charged in a receivingspace defined by the facing surfaces of the upper elastic member and thehousing 140 which spaced apart from each other by a prescribed distance.

The damping receiving recess 423 may have the bottom portion 423 adefined by the inner surface of the housing 140. For example, in thecase where the damping receiving recess 423 is formed in a lower portionof the housing 140, the bottom portion 423 a may be formed parallel tothe lower surface of the housing 140 among the inner surface of thehousing 140. For the same object, in the case where the dampingreceiving recess 423 is formed in an upper portion of the housing 140,the bottom portion 423 a may be formed parallel to the upper surface ofthe housing 140 among the inner surface of the housing 140. Owing to thebottom portion 423 a, the damper 410 prior to a semi-curing process mayremain at a given position in the damping receiving recess 423 of thehousing 140 and, accordingly, an operator may stably maintain the damper410 at a desired position, which may facilitate a final forming process,i.e. a semi-curing process of the damper 410.

Here, according to the present embodiment, as exemplarily illustrated inFIG. 24 , the bottom portion 423 a of the damping receiving recess 423may be downwardly inclined. At this time, both sides of the bottomportion 423 a may be concavely inclined at an even angle about thecenter axis of the stepped portion 423 a as the lowermost point. Withthis shape, when the damper 410 is charged or introduced into thedamping receiving recess 423, a sufficient amount of the damper 410 maybe charged in a region below the center of the damping protrusion 421where concentrative attenuation is required and, simultaneously, thedamper 410 may be more stably maintained at a given position even if itdoes not yet undergo a semi-curing process. In addition, as describedabove, the perforation 421 a may be formed in the free end of thedamping protrusion 421. As such, even if the amount of the damper 410below the perforation 421 a (i.e. above the center axis of the dampingreceiving recess 423) is increased, the damper 410 may be exposed tolight through the perforation 421 a, which ensures uniform semi-curingof the entire damper 410.

In addition, the damper 410 may be attached to or received in thedamping receiving recess 423 so as to surround the entire outer surfaceof a portion of the damping protrusion 421 by a prescribed thickness.That is, the damper 410 may be configured to surround upper and lowersurfaces, a front surface and both lateral surfaces of a portion of thedamping protrusion 421 received in the damping receiving recess 423, thebottom portion 423 a and both lateral surfaces of the damping receivingrecess 423, and a surface of the damping receiving recess 423 facing thefront surface of the damping protrusion 421.

In addition, the housing 140 may include lateral partitions 430 formedat both lateral sides of the damping receiving recess 423 so as toprotrude orthogonally from the upper surface of the housing 140. Throughprovision of the lateral partitions 430, when the damper 410 isintroduced or charged into the damping receiving recess 423, it ispossible to prevent the damper 410 from overflowing both the lateralsides of the damping receiving recess 423 and moving to other componentsin the lens moving apparatus 100.

Hereinafter, additional embodiments with respect to various shapes ofthe damping protrusion 421 will be described in detail.

FIG. 27 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating thedamping protrusion 421 according to a first additional embodiment, FIG.28 is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating the dampingprotrusion 421 according to a second additional embodiment, FIG. 29 is aschematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating the dampingprotrusion 421 according to a third additional embodiment, and FIG. 30is a schematic partially enlarged plan view illustrating the dampingprotrusion 421 according to a fourth additional embodiment.

The perforation 421 a and the lateral extensions 421 b as describedabove will be used below respectively as terms designating thecorresponding components.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 27 , according to a first additionalembodiment, the damping protrusion 421 may include lateral extensions421 b extending in opposite directions from the free end thereof and asingle perforation 421 a.

Here, the perforation 421 a may take the form of a closed perforationformed in the damping protrusion 421. For example, the perforation 421 amay be a circular perforation formed in the damping protrusion 421.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 28 , according to a second additionalembodiment, the damping protrusion 421 may include lateral extensions421 b extending in opposite directions from the free end thereof and aplurality of perforations 421 a.

Here, the perforations 421 a may have a smaller diameter than theperforation 421 a according to the first additional embodiment and maybe formed at a plurality of positions in the damping protrusion 421. Inaddition, the perforations 421 a may take the form of closedperforations formed in the damping protrusion 421. For example, theperforations 421 a may be circular perforations formed in the dampingprotrusion 421.

With this configuration according to the second additional embodiment,an exposure area of a portion of the damper 410 located below thedamping protrusion 421 may be increased, which may result inconsiderable reduction in exposure time required for a semi-curingprocess of the damper 410.

In an alternative embodiment, some of the perforations 421 a may becircular perforations formed in the damping protrusion 421 and some ofthe perforations 421 a may be a semicircular perforation formed in thefree end of the damping protrusion 421.

In addition, each of the lateral extensions 421 b may have at least oneperforation 421 a. In this way, an exposure area of a portion of thedamper 410 located below the damping protrusion 421 may be furtherincreased.

Of course, the perforation 421 a formed in the lateral extension 421 bmay be additionally formed in the damping protrusion 421 as illustratedin FIGS. 30 and 31 .

As exemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 29 and 30 , according to a thirdadditional embodiment and a fourth additional embodiment, the dampingprotrusion 421 may have a single perforation 421 a. At this time, in thepresent embodiments, the damping protrusion 421 does not include thelateral extensions 421 b.

In addition, the perforation 421 a according to the third additionalembodiment as illustrated in FIG. 29 may be a closed perforation formedin the damping protrusion 421. At this time, the closed perforation mayhave a circular shape.

The perforation 421 a according to the fourth additional embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 30 may be formed by incising a portion of the freeend of the damping protrusion 421 so as to be outwardly opened. At thistime, the incised perforation may have a semicircular shape.

FIG. 31 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating thedamping receiving recess 423 according to an additional embodiment.

The damping receiving recess 423 according to the embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 31 may include all of the constituent elements andtechnical features of the damping receiving recess 423 according to theabove-described embodiments.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 31 , the damping receiving recess 423according to the present embodiment may include an inner partition 423 cformed near the second facing surface so as to vertically protrude fromthe bottom portion 423 a of the damping receiving recess 423 by aprescribed height.

At this time, the prescribed height of the inner partition 423 c may besmaller than a height between the lower surface of the dampingprotrusion 421 and the bottom portion 423 a. This serves to removespatial interference between the damping protrusion 421 and the innerpartition 423 c via elastic reciprocation of the bobbin 110 in the firstdirection because the bobbin 110 elastically reciprocates in the firstdirection while the lens moving apparatus 100 performs auto-focusing.

That is, the damping receiving recess 423 may be defined by the bottomportion 423 a, the lateral partitions 430 formed at both lateral sidesthereof, the inner surface of the housing 140, and the inner partition423 c.

Through provision of the inner partition 423 c, when the damper 410 isintroduced or charged into the damping receiving recess 423, it ispossible to prevent the damper 410 from overflowing inward of thedamping receiving recess 423 (i.e. toward the bobbin 110) and moving toother components in the lens moving apparatus 100 and to more stably fixand maintain the damper 410 in position.

FIG. 32 is a schematic plan view and a partially enlarged viewillustrating the damper 410 and the damping connector 420 according toanother embodiment.

The damper 410 and the damping connector 420 according to the embodimentof FIG. 32 may include all of components and technical features of thedamper 410 and the damping connector 420 according to theabove-described embodiments except for differences in terms of positionsthereof.

As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 32 , the damper 410 according to thepresent embodiment may be located between the connector 153 or 163 of atleast one electric member among the upper elastic member and the lowerelastic member and the housing 140.

Specifically, the connector 153 or 163 may be bent at least one timebetween the inner frame 151 or 161 and the outer frame 152 or 162 into agiven shape of pattern so as to be elastically deformable in the firstdirection. The connector may schematically or wholly have a shape inwhich an “S”-shaped portion is repeated one or more times.

According to the present embodiment, the damping connectors 420 may beprovided at positions corresponding to positions of the dampers 410.Each damping connector 420 may be composed of a portion of the connectorof the upper elastic member and a portion of the housing 140.

Specifically, the damping protrusion 421 may extend from the outersurface of the connector 153 having a given pattern toward the housing140. That is, the damping protrusion 421 may horizontally extend in anoutward direction (i.e. toward the housing 140) from the outer surfaceof the outermost bent portion of the connector 153 that is bent one ormore times into a given shape of pattern.

The damping receiving recess 423 may be located at a positioncorresponding to the damping protrusion 421. That is, the dampingreceiving recess 423 may be located at the housing 140 so as to face thedamping protrusion 421.

The damping receiving recess 423 may be indented so as to receive aportion of the damping protrusion 421 and the damper 410.

The damping protrusion 421 and the damping receiving recess 423according to the present embodiment may include all of constituentelements and technical features of the damping protrusion 421 and thedamping receiving recess 423 according to the above-describedembodiments with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31 .

FIG. 33A is a graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration ofthe conventional lens moving apparatus having no damper 410, and FIG.33B is a graph illustrating optical axis directional vibration of thelens moving apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the case of the conventional lens moving apparatus 100 having nodamper 410 for auto-focusing, as illustrated in the graph of a vibrationexperiment result during auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100illustrated in FIG. 33A, it can be confirmed that a resonance point or aresonance section (see a red circular mark) at which an amplitude ismaximized is generated.

Differently, according to the present embodiment, in the case where thedamper 410 for auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100 isprovided, as illustrated in the graph of a vibration experimental resultduring auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100 illustrated inFIG. 33B, it can be confirmed that the resonance point or the resonancesection, illustrated in the graph of a vibration experimental resultduring auto-focusing of the lens moving apparatus 100 illustrated inFIG. 33A, is removed.

As described above, the present embodiment may attenuate optical axisdirectional vibration of the bobbin during implementation ofauto-focusing by providing the damper between at least one elasticmember among the upper elastic member and the lower elastic member andthe housing. In this way, the present embodiment may remove resonance ofthe lens moving apparatus in the optical axis direction duringimplementation of auto-focusing. As a result, the present embodiment mayprevent damage and breakage of the upper elastic member and/or the lowerelastic member that connect the bobbin and the housing to each other.

In addition, through provision of the damping connectors between thebobbin and the housing to increase an attachment area of the dampers,the present embodiment may increase an attenuation area of the dampersand, consequently, may more efficiently remove resonance duringimplementation of auto-focusing and improve attachment stability of thedampers between the bobbin and the housing.

In addition, the camera module may further include a camera modulecontroller. The camera module controller may compare a focal distance ofa lens depending on a distance between an imaging target object and thelens with a first displacement value calculated based on a currentvariation sensed by the displacement sensor. Thereafter, when the firstdisplacement value or a current position of the lens does not correspondto the focal distance of the lens, the camera module controller mayreregulate the amount of current applied to the coil 120 of the bobbin110 to move the bobbin 110 in the first direction by a seconddisplacement. In the displacement sensor, as the sensing magnet 190fixedly coupled to the bobbin 110 as a moving body is moved in the firstdirection, the position sensor 180 fixedly coupled to the housing 140 asa stationary element senses variation in magnetic force emitted from thesensing magnet 190. Based on variation in the amount of current outputaccording to the sensed variation in magnetic force, the displacementsensor, a separate driver IC or the camera module controller maycalculate or judge a current position of the bobbin 110 or the firstdisplacement. As the current position of the bobbin 110 or the firstdisplacement calculated or judged by the displacement sensor istransmitted to the controller of the printed circuit board 170, thecontroller may again determine a position of the bobbin 110 forauto-focusing and adjust the amount of current to be applied to the coil120.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 34 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a lens movingapparatus according to another embodiment, FIG. 35 is a perspective viewillustrating the lens moving apparatus having no cover member accordingto the embodiment, FIG. 36 is a view illustrating a housing and an upperelastic member according to the embodiment, FIG. 37 is a side sectionalview of FIG. 36 , and FIG. 38 is a view illustrating graphic curvesacquired during movement of the conventional lens moving apparatus andthe lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 34 to 37 , the lens moving apparatus according to thepresent embodiment may basically include a moving unit 100, a stationaryunit 200, an elastic unit 300, a damper member 400, and a positionsensing unit 500.

The moving unit 100 may accommodate a lens or a lens unit 10 asdescribed below and is movable. The moving unit 100 may include a bobbin110 and a coil unit 120. The lens unit 10 may be accommodated in thebobbin 110.

Specifically, the bobbin 110 may be coupled to the lens unit 10 asdescribed below so as to fix the lens unit 10. Although the lens unit 10and the bobbin 110 may be coupled to each other via screwing of threadsformed at an inner circumferential surface of the bobbin 110 and anouter circumferential surface of the lens unit 10, the lens unit 10 andthe bobbin 110 may be coupled to each other in a non-screwing mannerusing an adhesive. Of course, the lens unit 10 and the bobbin 110 may bemore firmly coupled to each other by being screwed and attached to eachother using an adhesive.

In addition, the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin 110 may beprovided with a stepped portion 111 to guide winding or installation ofthe coil unit 120 as described below. The stepped portion 111 may becontinuously formed at the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin110, or may be formed at the center of each side surface of the bobbin110 as illustrated. Alternatively, the stepped portion may be configuredto support the coil unit so as to allow a prefabricated coil winding tobe fitted around an upper portion or a lower portion of the outercircumferential surface of the bobbin 110.

In addition, the bobbin 110 may be provided at an upper surface and/or alower surface thereof with one or more coupling bosses 112 for couplingof an upper elastic member 310 and/or a lower elastic member 320. Theupper elastic member 310 and/or the lower elastic member 320 serve tosupport the bobbin 110 at the upper side of a base 240 as describedbelow.

The bobbin 110 may have a first recess 113 indented in the side surfacethereof or defined by the stepped portion 111. A sensing magnet 510 asdescribed below is located in the first recess 113. In addition, thebobbin 110 may be provided at the upper surface thereof with one or moreprotrusions 114 formed in the proximity of connectors 310 c of the upperelastic member 310 as described above. In a plan view, the protrusions114 may have a rectangular, triangular, circular, or trapezoidal shape,without being limited thereto.

The first coupling bosses 112 or the protrusions 114 may beequidistantly or symmetrically formed at the upper surface of the bobbin110. In the present embodiment, four pairs of the coupling bosses 112(each pair including two coupling bosses 112) may be formed and fourprotrusions 114 may be equidistantly or symmetrically formed.

The coil unit 120 may be located around the bobbin 110. Specifically,the coil unit 120 may be wound around the outer circumferential surfaceof the bobbin 110 under guiding of the stepped portion 111 of the bobbin110. The coil unit 120 as a prefabricated coil winding may be mounted tothe stepped portion 111.

Alternatively, four individual coils may be arranged at the outercircumferential surface of the bobbin 110 at an interval of 90 degrees.The coil unit 120 including the four coils may create an electromagneticfield upon receiving power applied from a printed circuit board (notillustrated) as described below and move the bobbin 110 via interactionwith a magnet unit 230 as described below.

The stationary unit 200 may include a housing 220, a magnet unit 230,and a base 240 and may further include a cover member 210. The covermember may serve as a housing. The moving unit 100 may be moved viainteraction between the magnet unit of the stationary unit 200 and thecoil unit of the moving unit 100.

The housing 220 may be outwardly spaced apart from the bobbin 110 by aprescribed distance. In addition, the housing 220 may not be separatelyprovided, but be integrally formed with the cover member 210 asdescribed below. Alternatively, the external appearance of the lensmoving apparatus may be defined by only a separate cover member.

In the present embodiment, the housing 220 may be supported by the base240 and configured to receive the bobbin 110 therein. The housing 220may take the form of a cuboid corresponding to a shape of the covermember 210 and have open top and bottom sides to support the moving unit100.

The housing 220 may be provided at side surfaces thereof with magnetcoupling apertures 221 or magnet coupling recesses having a shapecorresponding to magnets as described below. The magnet couplingapertures 221 may be formed in the housing 220 so as to be equal innumber to the magnets as described below. The magnet coupling apertures221 or the magnet coupling recesses according to the embodiment may beformed in two opposite side surfaces of the housing 220 as illustratedin consideration of the sensing magnet 510 as described below, but maybe formed in all of four side surfaces of the housing 220.

In addition, the housing 220 may be formed of an insulating material andmay be an injection molded article in consideration of productivity.

The housing 220 may be provided at an upper surface thereof with atleast two stoppers 222 spaced apart from each other by a prescribeddistance. The stoppers 222 may protrude from the upper surface of thehousing 220 to absorb external shock. The stoppers 222 may be integrallyformed with the housing 220, may be formed at the bobbin 110, or may beomitted.

In addition, the housing 220 may be provided at the upper surface and/ora lower surface thereof with one or more second coupling bosses 223. Thesecond coupling bosses 223 may be inserted into second coupling holes310 aa of an outer part 310 a of the upper elastic member 310 or thelower elastic member 320 as described below. For example, four secondcoupling bosses 223 may be equidistantly formed at symmetrical orasymmetrical positions.

The housing 220 may have fixing bosses 224, which may protrude from thehousing 220 so as to be located at both ends of a reduced-thicknessportion 310 ab for fixing of the reduced-thickness portion 310 ab formedat the outer part 310 a of the upper elastic member 310 as describedbelow.

Referring to FIG. 37 , the housing 220 may be provided at the uppersurface thereof with one or more receiving recesses 225 in which dampermembers 400 as described below are charged by a prescribed height. Forexample, four receiving recesses 225 may be equidistantly arranged atsymmetrical or asymmetrical positions. Here, the receiving recesses 225may be formed in the center of each side of the housing 220 asillustrated, or may be formed at each corner of the housing 220.

In addition, the housing 220 may be provided at one side surface thereofwith a position sensor hole 227 or a second recess (not shown) in whicha position sensor 520 as described below is located. In consideration ofan installation relationship between a substrate 530 and the positionsensor 520, the position sensor 520 may be installed to the positionsensor hole 227 formed in the side surface as illustrated. The positionsensor may be a hall sensor.

In addition, the housing 220 may be formed at a lower end of each cornerof the outer surface thereof with a coupling recess 226 in which acoupling protrusion 241 of the base 240 as described below may beseated. The coupling protrusion 241 and the coupling recess 226 mayfacilitate easy assembly of the housing 220 and the base 240 and achievestrong fixing force.

The housing 220 may be spaced apart from the cover member 210 by a givendistance, or may be engaged with the cover member 210. The bobbin 110may be moved in the optical axis direction via interaction of the coilunit 120 and a magnet unit 230.

The magnet unit 230 may be mounted to the housing 220 or the covermember 210 using, for example, an adhesive, so as to be opposite to thecoil unit 120. The magnet unit 230 may include two or four magnetsfitted into the magnet coupling apertures 221 formed in the housing 220,which ensure efficient utilization of the interior volume of the housing220.

Alternatively, the two or four magnets of the magnet unit 230 may beattached to two or four inner side surfaces of the housing 220 so as tobe opposite to the coil unit 120.

Although the magnets of the magnet unit 230 may have a rectangularparallelepiped shape as illustrated, the embodiment is not limitedthereto and the magnets may have a polygonal column shape.

The base 240 may be configured to allow the housing 220 to be fixed toan upper surface thereof. Specifically, the base 240 may be coupled tothe cover member 210 as described below so as to enclose the moving unit100 and the housing 220.

A through-hole 242 is formed in the center of the base 240 andcorresponds to the lens unit 10 as described below. In addition, thebase 240 may have a center circular recess 243 to allow the bobbin 110to be spaced apart from the base 240.

In addition, the base 240 may have one or more coupling protrusions 241protruding from upper corners thereof so as to come into surface contactwith or be inserted into the coupling recesses 226 of the housing 220.The coupling protrusions 241 may facilitate easy coupling of the housing220 and the base 240 and achieve strong fixing after coupling.

The base 240 may be formed at one side surface thereof with a seatingrecess 244 in which a terminal unit 531 of the substrate 530 asdescribed below is seated. The seating recess 244 may be indented in atleast one side surface of the base 240. In addition, the seating recess244 may be formed at a right angle or an acute angle relative to theinner surface of the cover member 210 as described below so as tocorrespond to the arrangement angle of the terminal unit 531.

The base 240 may function as a sensor holder to protect an image sensor(not illustrated) as described below, and a filter (not illustrated) maybe installed to the base 240. In this case, the filter may be mountednear the center through-hole of the base 240 and may include an infraredfilter or a blue filter.

Here, the filter may be formed of, for example, a film material or aglass material. For example, an infrared cutoff coating material may bedisposed on an optical filter in the form of a flat plate such as, forexample, a cover glass for protection of an imaging surface.

In the case where the filter is installed at the outer side of a lens,the filter may not be separately provided and the lens surface may becoated for infrared cutoff.

Meanwhile, the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment mayfurther include the elastic unit 300.

The elastic unit 300 may include an upper elastic member 310 and a lowerelastic member 320 connected to the bobbin 110 and the housing 220 toprovide the moving unit 100 with return force. Although each of theupper elastic member 310 and the lower elastic member 320 may consist ofseparate elastic members arranged at respective sides of the housing220, each elastic member may take the form of a leaf spring formed bybending or cutting a single plate in terms of production efficiency.

The upper elastic member 310 is disposed on the upper ends of the bobbin110 and the housing 220 to support the bobbin 110 and serves to providethe bobbin 110 with return force upon upward movement of the bobbin 110.

The upper elastic member 310 includes an outer part 310 a fastened tothe housing 220, an inner part 310 b fastened to the bobbin 110, andconnectors 310 c connecting the inner part 310 b and the outer part 310a to each other. Here, each connector 310 c may be at least one bentportion.

For coupling of the upper elastic member 310, the housing 220 may beprovided at the upper surface thereof with the second coupling bosses223 and the outer part 310 a may be formed with the second couplingholes 310 aa corresponding to the second coupling bosses 223 forcoupling of the second coupling bosses 223.

On the other hand, for coupling of the upper elastic member 310, thebobbin 110 may be provided at the upper surface thereof with the firstcoupling bosses 112 and the inner part 310 b may be formed with firstcoupling holes 310 ba corresponding to the first coupling bosses 112.Coupling between the coupling bosses and the coupling holes may beimplemented via thermal fusion, adhesion or soldering.

In addition, the inner part 310 b of the upper elastic member 310 may beformed with shock-absorbing portions 310 bb, which extend to the outerpart 310 a and are received in the respective receiving recesses 225.Although the shock-absorbing portions 310 bb may have a bent shape, theembodiment is not limited to this shape and the shock-absorbing portions310 bb may have any other shapes so long as they may extend from theinner part 310 b so as to be received in the receiving recesses 225. Afree end of each shock-absorbing portion 310 bb may be spaced apart fromthe bottom surface of the receiving recess 225 by a prescribed distance.In this case, a portion of the free end may be elastically received inthe damper member 400 as described below.

The outer part 310 a may have the reduced-thickness portions 310 ab toprevent interference with the shock-absorbing portions 310 b extendingfrom the inner part 310 b. The reduced-thickness portions 310 ab may besupported by the fixing bosses 224 of the housing 220 as describedabove.

The embodiment may include the position sensing unit 500. The positionsensing unit 500 may basically include a sensing magnet 510, a positionsensor 520, and a substrate 530. The position sensor may be a hallsensor. The substrate 530 may be implemented into a flexible printedcircuit board located between the outer surface of the housing 220 andthe cover member 210 and may include the terminal unit 531 forconnection with an external power source.

In this case, the terminal unit 531 may extend downward, i.e. toward thebase for soldering with a separate printed circuit board as describedbelow.

In addition, the substrate 530 may be electrically connected to bothdistal ends of the coil unit 120 to apply power to the coil unit 120.

The position sensor 520 may be mounted to the substrate 530.Specifically, the position sensor 520 may be located at the housing 220so as to be opposite to the sensing magnet 510 for sensing the strengthand phase of a magnetic field of the sensing magnet 510 located at thebobbin 110 and may cause auto-focusing for rapid and precise control ofthe bobbin 110.

In consideration of a reduction in the size of the lens movingapparatus, although the position sensor 520 may be located in theposition sensor hole 227 formed in the housing 220, the embodiment isnot limited thereto and installation of the position sensor 520 may beimplemented without a hole. In addition, the sensing magnet 510 may belocated in the first recess 113 formed in the bobbin 110 and a portionof the substrate 530 where the terminal unit 531 is formed may belocated in the seating recess 244 of the base 240.

The position sensor 520 may be located at the same line as the sensingmagnet 510. In order to sense displacement along the Z-axiscorresponding to the optical axis direction, the sensing magnet 510 maybe mounted to the outer surface of the bobbin 110 separately from themagnet unit 230 for driving of the moving unit 100. As needed, thesensing magnet 510 may serve as the magnet unit.

On the other hand, differently from the illustration, the positionsensor 520 may be provided at the bobbin 110 inside the coil unit 120.In this case, the position sensor 520 may be hidden by the coil unit 120so as not to be seen from the outside. In addition, the position sensor520 may be located at the outer side of the coil unit 120.

In addition, the sensing magnet or the position sensor may be locatedabove or below the coil unit so as not to overlap with the coil unit. Inthis case, interference with the coil may be reduced. Although theposition sensor 520 may be located closer to the coil unit 120 than thesensing magnet 510, in consideration of the fact that the strength ofthe magnetic field created at the sensing magnet 510 is hundreds oftimes of the strength of a magnetic field created at the coil, theelectro-magnetic field of the coil unit 120 is not under considerationupon sensing of movement of the sensing magnet 510.

The cover member 210 may be coupled to the base 240 so as to receive themoving unit 100, the fixing unit 200 and the elastic unit 300 and maydefine the external appearance of the lens moving apparatus. Asillustrated, although the cover member 210 may have a rectangularparallelepiped shape having an upper opening 211 and a lower opening,the shape of the cover member 210 is not limited thereto.

An inner side surface of the cover member 210 may come into closecontact with a side portion of the base 240 such that the bottom of thecover member 210 is closed by the base 240. As such, the cover member210 may function to protect internal constituent elements from externalshock and to prevent infiltration of outside contaminants.

In addition, the cover member 210 may function to protect constituentelements of the camera module from interference of external radio wavesgenerated by a cellular phone and the like. Accordingly, the covermember 210 may be formed of a metal material such as iron and aluminumand may be plated with a metal such as nickel for anti-corrosion.

Although not illustrated, a portion of one surface of the cover member210 corresponding to the seating recess 244 of the base 240 may beexposed. The exposed portion may facilitate easy soldering of theterminal unit 531 and the printed circuit board as described below andprevent short-circuit of the cover member 210 due to solder balls. Inaddition, a downwardly bent inner yoke 212 may be formed at the innercircumference of the opening 211 formed in the upper surface of thecover member 210. The inner yoke may be located between the bobbin 110and the coil unit 120.

Meanwhile, the embodiment may include the damper members 400 locatedbetween the housing 220 and the elastic unit 300 and/or between thebobbin 110 and the elastic unit 300. The damper members 400 may beformed of sol or gel type epoxy and may be applied between the housing220 and the elastic unit 300 and/or between the bobbin 110 and theelastic unit 300 so as to absorb shock.

Specifically, the bobbin 110 is moved in the optical axis direction andthis movement is for auto-focusing of an object. The inner part 310 b ofthe upper elastic member 310 is elastically deformed simultaneously withmovement of the bobbin 110 and provides return force after movement ofthe bobbin 110 in which the lens unit 10 is received. Here, in theembodiment, since the shock-absorbing portion 310 bb extends from theinner part 310 b and the free end of the shock-absorbing portions 310 bbis spaced apart from the damper member 400 applied to the housing 220 ofthe fixing unit 200 by a prescribed distance, translation of the elasticmember may be alleviated. In the embodiment, to efficiently apply thedamper member 400, the housing 220 has the receiving recess 225, thedamper member 400 is charged in the receiving recess 225 with aprescribed distance therebetween, and the shock absorbing portion 310 bbcoming into contact with the damper member 400 is spaced apart from thebottom surface of the receiving recess 225 by a prescribed distance.

Meanwhile, separately from or in combination with the above embodiment(between the housing 220 and the elastic unit 300), in anotherembodiment (between the bobbin 110 and the elastic unit 300), in orderto be connected to the inner part 310 b so as to alleviate translationof the connector 310 c that is elastically formed simultaneously withmovement of the bobbin 110, the protrusion 114 may be formed at theupper surface of the bobbin 110 of the moving unit 100 at a position inthe proximity of the connector 310 c and the damper member 400 may beapplied between the connector portion 310 c and the protrusion 114.

With the above-described structural feature for arrangement of thedamper member 400, an experimental example as illustrated in FIG. 38 maybe derived. FIG. 38(a) illustrates generation of a resonance point in aconventional lens moving apparatus and FIG. 38(b) illustrates a graphillustrating a frequency value upon movement of the lens movingapparatus according to the embodiment.

As illustrated in the graph of FIG. 38(b), the embodiment may removepeaks P1 and P2 of a resonance frequency according to the related art,i.e. resonance points P1 and P2 as illustrated in the graph of FIG.38(a).

By adjusting the amount or application area of the damper member 400,the embodiment may increase a resonance frequency and, for example, aregulated resonance frequency may be within a range of 50 Hz to 180 Hzso as not to overlap with a resonance frequency range of a vibrationmotor.

For example, by proposing a structure for efficiently arranging thedamper member 400 at the elastic member, the moving unit 100 and/or thefixing unit 200, the embodiment may increase durability and reliabilityof the damper member 400 by preventing separation of the damper member400 and may achieve noise removal, improved control stability andoscillation removal with regard to driving of the lens moving apparatusby changing the shape of a frequency or a resonance point. It will beappreciated that the embodiment has been described with regard to anauto focusing type lens moving apparatus, the embodiment may be appliedto an optical image stabilization (OIS) type lens moving apparatus.

Meanwhile, the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment may bemounted to a camera module. The camera module may be applied to variousmultimedia products such as, for example, a cellular phone, a laptopcomputer, a camera phone, a PDA, and a smart toy and may also be appliedto image input devices such as, for example, a monitoring camera or aninformation terminal of a video tape recorder. For example, in the casewhere the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment is installedto the camera module, although the camera module is not illustrated, thelens unit 10, the printed circuit board, and the image sensor may befurther provided.

The lens unit 10 may be a lens barrel without being limited thereto andmay have any other shapes so long as it may support a lens. Theembodiment will be described based on the case in which the lens unit 10is a lens barrel.

The lens unit 10 is installed on the printed circuit board as describedbelow at a position corresponding to the image sensor. The lens unit 10includes one or more lenses.

In addition, the camera module according to the embodiment may furtherinclude the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board may beprovided at the center of an upper surface thereof with the image sensor(not illustrated) and a variety of elements (not illustrated) fordriving of the camera module.

In addition, to apply power required to drive the lens moving apparatusaccording to the embodiment, the printed circuit board may be connectedto the terminal unit 531, the upper elastic member 310 or the lowerelastic member 320, or may be electrically connected to the coil unit120.

The image sensor (not illustrated) may be mounted at the center of theupper surface of the printed circuit board so as to be aligned with thelenses of the lens unit 10 along the optical axis direction. The imagesensor converts optical signals with respect to an object receivedthrough the lenses into electric signals.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lens moving apparatus comprising: a housing; abobbin disposed in the housing; a coil disposed on the bobbin; a magnetdisposed on the housing to correspond to the coil; an upper elasticmember coupled to an upper portion of the bobbin and an upper portion ofthe housing; and a damper coupled to the upper elastic member and thehousing, wherein the upper elastic member comprises a connectorconnecting the bobbin and the housing and a protrusion extending towardthe housing, and wherein the damper is coupled to the protrusion and thehousing.
 2. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprotrusion horizontally extends from an outer surface of the connector.3. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housingcomprises a recess corresponding to a portion of the protrusion, andwherein a portion of the damper is disposed between the portion of theprotrusion and the recess of the housing.
 4. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the protrusion comprises a through hole,and wherein a portion of the damper is disposed between the through holeof the protrusion and the housing.
 5. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein the recess is recessed from an uppersurface of the housing and disposed under the portion of the protrusion.6. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a throughhole is formed at the portion of the protrusion, and wherein the portionof the damper is disposed between the through hole and the recess of thehousing.
 7. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 6, wherein thethrough hole is overlapped with the recess of the housing in a firstdirection in parallel to an optical axis.
 8. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the damper is overlapped with theprotrusion in a first direction in parallel to an optical axis, and notoverlapped with the connector.
 9. The lens moving apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the upper elastic member comprises an inner framecoupled to the upper portion of the bobbin and an outer frame coupled tothe upper portion of the housing, and wherein the connector connects theinner frame and the outer frame.
 10. The lens moving apparatus accordingto claim 9, wherein the damper is spaced apart from the inner frame andthe outer frame.
 11. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 9,wherein the protrusion comprises: a first end portion coupled to theconnector; and second end portion disposed in opposite to the first endportion, and wherein a portion of the damper is disposed between thesecond end portion and the housing.
 12. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein the second end portion is disposed closerto the outer frame than the inner frame.
 13. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein a length of the protrusion is short thana length of the connector, and wherein the length of the protrusion is alength from the first end portion to the second end portion, and thelength of the connector is a length from one end of the connectorcoupled to the inner frame to another end of the connector coupled tothe outer frame.
 14. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising a lower elastic member coupled to a lower portion ofthe bobbin and a lower portion of the housing.
 15. The lens movingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a position sensordisposed on the housing; and a sensing magnet disposed on the bobbin andcorresponding to the position sensor.
 16. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 15, further comprising a circuit board disposed onthe housing, and electrically connected to the position sensor.
 17. Thelens moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connectorcomprises four connectors spaced apart from each other, and wherein theprotrusion comprises four protrusions corresponding to the fourconnectors, wherein the damper comprises four dampers corresponding tothe four protrusions, and wherein each of four dampers is coupled tocorresponding one of the four protrusions.
 18. A camera modulecomprising: a housing; a bobbin disposed in the housing; a lens coupledto the bobbin; a coil disposed on the bobbin; a magnet disposed on thehousing to correspond to the coil; an upper elastic member coupled to anupper portion of the bobbin and an upper portion of the housing; adamper coupled to the upper elastic member and the housing, a printedcircuit board disposed below the lens; and an image sensor disposed onthe circuit board, wherein the upper elastic member comprises aconnector connecting the bobbin and the housing and a protrusionextending toward the housing, and wherein the damper is coupled to theprotrusion and the housing.
 19. A phone comprising: the camera moduleaccording to claim 18; and a controller adjusting an amount of currentapplied to the coil.